Samuel Adeyemi Adefesobi is a graduate Civil Engineer by profession, some of the construction companies he has worked with include Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), HITECH Construction Limited, NAIRDA Construction Limited. He led in so many capacities which include:
- The President, Anti-Corruption Community Development Group, Oredo Local Government, Benin City (NYSC 2016 Batch B II).
- Academic Coordinator, Civil Engineering Departmental fellowship, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife (2014/2015 Session).
- Treasurer, Nigeria Society of Engineers (Student’s Wing) Federal Polytechnic Ede Chapter (2009/2010 Session).
He bagged a Master’s degree in Foundation and Geotechnical Engineering, after which he will be registered with Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). Currently, he runs SammyWhite Apparels; adorning clothes with elegant design and sleek bespoke fitting.
Globe Oportunities: How did you come across the YALI Programme?
I came across the program via Globe opportunities because I do follow latest opportunities on their platform.
Globe Oportunities: How will you describe your experience at the YALI programme?
The experience was transformative and mind blowing, up till now I have not recovered from it. The programme afforded me the opportunity to collaborate and network with other young, talented, cerebral and successful emerging leaders from 9 West-African countries (Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra leone, Burkina Faso and Liberia). We are passionate in putting Africa in her rightful place and indeed Africa has what it takes.
Ever since the commencement of the programme I have been thinking differently, coming up with African solutions to our African problems. It is high time we had left complaining, it’s time to act and provide Solutions.
Globe Oportunities: What have you learnt from the programme?
The things I learnt were enormous but I will try my best to summarize them.
Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched by the United States government as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Participants were taught three main courses (Leadership and Accountability, Ethics and Contemporary issues affecting Africa) and one elective course from three themes, namely: Entrepreneurship , Public Policy and Management, and Civil Society Management. My Selected elective course was Entrepreneurship because I’m passionate in solving problems and in the process jobs will be created and the GDP will grow.
Leadership is the ability to influence others to see and accept your perspective. It should be noted that there can’t be a leader if there are no followers and we are all leader at one level or the other. Before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself. Effective leaders know their strengths and weaknesses, engage in continuous self improvement and engage others to balance their weaknesses. The question then comes, do you know your weaknesses? An effective leader has a leadership tool box or traits which entails ( tolerance for stress, self confidence, Internal Locus of Control, emotional maturity, need for power, personal integrity, achievement orientation and etc).
The good news is, if you don’t have these traits, it can be learnt as it was re-emphasized that leaders are not born but built. There are three basic skills for effective leadership which are (in ascending order): Technical skills, Interpersonal skills and Conceptual skills. For the entry level, Technical skills is the most important which will announce us to our world.
There are two classes of Entrepreneurs which are: Accidental Entrepreneurs and Deliberate Entrepreneurs. The story of Otunba Isaac Durojaye (founder of mobile Toilet) is that of an accidental entrepreneur, he manages the waste of others to make personal wealth. He was quoted to have said “shit business is a serious business”. The story of Thomas Edison is of a delibrate entrepreneur, he failed so many times in making a light bulb and he said “ I have not failed but found out 10,000 ways that won’t work”, he saw non of his inventions as an accident, his inventions are essential landmarks of our lives but most people may not know that a lot of his inventions were products of his serial failures. Passion is a must have for any entrepreneur!
As an Entrepreneur, you have to know the difference between an idea and opportunity. An idea is a thought, impression or notion while an opportunity has the potential to create something new and desirable (Baron and Shane, 2006). An opportunity has the quality of being Customer focused ( solves real pain), timely (the market is ready), attractive (huge profit potential) and durable (will last long enough to generate return on investment).
All participant in entrepreneurship track got to know their Entrepreneurial DNA ( you can check yours by visiting www.bosidna.com). My primary DNA is Specialist and secondary DNA is Innovator, the result was an eye opener towards my achievement as a specialist. Comparing the result of cohort 3 and cohort 4, A simple conclusion from both population samples of 79 Participants is that YALI entrepreneurship track participants in the last two cohorts are generally more disposed to demonstrating the specialist and innovator entrepreneurial DNA characteristics. The implication could be that many of the start-up businesses from these 2 sets will require other entrepreneurs with the skills sets and DNA of builders and opportunists to assure successful entrepreneurial pursuits. Also, there is a need to focus on entrepreneurship development focusing on raising more builders and opportunists.
To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to think differently i.e you must be able to answer in sequential order the why? ( which speak of the problem you want to solve), how? ( processes involved in solving the problem) and the what? ( which speak of the reward in monetary terms for solving the problem). Unfortunately, many do think in the reverse order and this suggest while many businesses fail within the space of 5 years of starting. The focus should be on the problem to be solved and not the reward.
I also learnt how to use a Business Model Canvass and how to craft a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) which explains how your product solves customers’ problem, delivers specific benefits and tells the customer why they should buy from you and not from the competitors. A UVP must be memorable, inspirational, satisfying and compelling.
Furthermore, I learnt about competitive strategies (the red and blue ocean strategies). The Red Ocean strategy is a market competing strategy while the Blue Ocean strategy is a marketing creating strategy (Value Innovation which creates and captures new demand). As red oceans are becoming bloodier, we need to create blue oceans. The only way to beat competition is to stop trying to beat the competition (Layi,2018)!
Finally, I learnt how to write a Business Plan and how to give a detailed elevator speech. A business plan is needed to attract investors, to see if the business idea will work, to outline each area of the business, to secure additional funding, to set up milestones, and to determine financial needs. An elevator speech must be well crafted in such a way that it contains the problem to be solved, how the problem is to be solved, the distinguishing factor from your competitors and the call to action.
NB: The above statements can be developed for your businesses to experience growth like no other at an affordable fee. Please feel free to contact me.
Globe Oportunities:What tips do you have for the intending YALI applicant(s)?
All intending applicants must have leadership potentials and must have demonstrated this potentials at one level or the other. Therefore I encourage youth not only to seek for leadership positions but also exhibit leadership traits to be eligible for YALI leadership Training.
Applicants will be required to fill an online form and must put in a strong entry because all those who fall into the category of people needed for the training will be shortlisted for a telephone interview and this will be based on your entry. Also all intending applicant must have an International Passport and a Yellow Card, please be on the lookout to apply for the next cohort Leadership training.
Globe Oportunities:What is your advice to the Youths?
Information is key to transformation, it is not enough to gather information but we must also act on the information to experience transformation. It is not what you know that counts but what you do with what you know. Information gives knowledge and applied knowledge is power, this power is needed to provide African solutions to African problems. Some said many African Youths are lazy when it comes to reading and if you want to hide anything from them, put it in a book. It is high time we started reading because readers are leaders, we are not only leaders of tomorrow but also that of today.
Also, many Youths have this get rich quick mentality but anything that will be sustainable has to be built over time. Many of our wealthy personalities in Africa like Dangote, Otedola, Alakija, Adenuga and etc did not just surface but took time to build their wealth. Having a sustainable wealth entails being passionate, diligent, hardworking and the God factor among others. Getting a mentor is a necessity.
The question then comes, what are you passionate about? Invest your resources into that thing and you will see yourself soaring.
Samuel Adeyemi Adefesobi can be reached via adefesobi2015@gmail.com